Firefox can't play Netflix, but Chrome can.
I have Firefox 13.0.1 installed (also tried the beta, 14 or whatever) and I can't play movies on Netflix. Silverlight is up-to-date, everything is up-to-date, but it doesn't work. It goes to that page that says,
"Complete System Requirements
To watch instantly, youll need a computer that meets the following minimum requirements:
Windows
Windows XP with Service Pack 2, Vista or Windows 7
Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher; or Firefox 3 or higher; or Chrome 7 or higher
1.2 GHz processor
512 MB RAM
Mac
An Intel-based Mac with OS 10.4.11 or later
Safari 3 or higher; or Firefox 3 or higher; or Chrome 10 or higher
1 GB RAM
Chrome OS
A Google Chromebook with Chrome OS 13 or higher"
But if I open and try it in Google Chrome, it goes just fine. I'm on Windows 8 Release Preview, and it's a 64bit system. Firefox is 32bit, of course. I don't know what else I can possibly try to get Netflix to work in Firefox. Chrome is fine, but Firefox is my default browser, and I wish I didn't have to switch over every time just for Netflix.
Chosen solution
Until netflix actually supports Windows 8, the solution is lie. We have to tell netflix that we're still using Windows 7.
If you're not comfortable with technical stuff, the easy way is to install this addon:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/masking-agent/?src=search
And in the field it provides on its option screen type in "Windows NT 6.1", minus the quotations. That translates to Windows 7.
If you don't feel like having yet another addon installed you can just add the information directly into firefox.
Open a new tab and type in about:config. You'll probably get a warning about messing with settings.
Once you're in right click and select new > string. For the preference name you want to type in "general.useragent.override", minus the quotations.
Then you want to type in the value, which is the info that firefox hands over to the netflix server to be identified, mine is (at least that's what I'm telling netflix):
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:13.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/13.0.1
It breaks down like this:
Mozilla is the base info, 5.0 is the Mozilla version.
Windows NT 6.1 is your version of windows (Windows NT 6.1 is Windows 7).
rv:13.0 is the version of Gecko layout engine being used.
Gecko is the name of the layout engine.
The string of numbers after is the build date.
Firefox is the browser name.
Finally, 13.0.1 is the browser version.
Read this answer in context 👍 4All Replies (3)
Are you using Flashblock and is it set to block Silverlight? If so, unblock it.
Chosen Solution
Until netflix actually supports Windows 8, the solution is lie. We have to tell netflix that we're still using Windows 7.
If you're not comfortable with technical stuff, the easy way is to install this addon:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/masking-agent/?src=search
And in the field it provides on its option screen type in "Windows NT 6.1", minus the quotations. That translates to Windows 7.
If you don't feel like having yet another addon installed you can just add the information directly into firefox.
Open a new tab and type in about:config. You'll probably get a warning about messing with settings.
Once you're in right click and select new > string. For the preference name you want to type in "general.useragent.override", minus the quotations.
Then you want to type in the value, which is the info that firefox hands over to the netflix server to be identified, mine is (at least that's what I'm telling netflix):
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:13.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/13.0.1
It breaks down like this:
Mozilla is the base info, 5.0 is the Mozilla version.
Windows NT 6.1 is your version of windows (Windows NT 6.1 is Windows 7).
rv:13.0 is the version of Gecko layout engine being used.
Gecko is the name of the layout engine.
The string of numbers after is the build date.
Firefox is the browser name.
Finally, 13.0.1 is the browser version.
Thanks, Paddingtonbear, that did it. Although it seems ridiculous (considering I have the SAME EXACT setup on my laptop, Windows 8, 64 bit, everything and it worked fine) the addon solution works like a charm on my desktop. Thanks a lot!